Turnhout ch7

Question 1

What is knowledge integration?

Answer 1

The process of combining diverse forms of expertise (scientific, traditional, local, and lay knowledge) to tackle complex environmental issues

Question 2

What are three arguments for the importance of knowledge integration?

Answer 2

• The complexity of environmental problems: complex interlinkages and social aspects
• In order to take appropriate measures, policy makers need to be presented with an integrated representation of the problem
• Participation and inclusion: different actors have stakes in and may have relevant knowledge on the issue

Question 3

What is interdisciplinarity?

(3)

Answer 3

• A rather unstable and contexual phenomenon that has many different meanings and interpretations
• The collaboration between different scientific disciplines that are relevant for the problem at hand
• When knowledge from different disciplines is integrated

Question 4

Describe four barriers to knowledge integration

Answer 4

• Values embedded in science: choices of what to measure and how are not value neutral
• Theories and explanatory models: hard to establish the superiority of one model/theory over another, leading to problems in deciding which one to use
• Epistemology: different assumptions about what constitutes as reliable knowledge
• Insitutional incentive structures: experts might not be inclined to prioritise interdisciplinary collaboration if it does not lead to papers that can be published in journals that are held in high regard within the discipline